let's go to cnn's, priscilla alvarez, who's at the white house for us. priscilla, what

priscilla alvarez is a at the white house. as we wait for the president, what are you hearing about the specifics of what he's going to say? >> he's expected to take an urgent tone and pushing for the supplemental request in making the play he's made from the beginning that this is not just about assisting israel and ukraine, but also is unhertzed for national security of the u.s. he's likely to make the warning that his officials have made over the course of the last few days. the office of management and budget saying that without congressional action, we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for ukraine and provide equipment for u.s. military stock. we're likely to see an extension of that in the remarks, which are expected momentarily. to refind viewers, the president has come out to push for the supplemental request to push for total breaking it down. it's $61 billion for ukraine and $14 billion for israel. he made a the call for the naugs in october when this was first introduced. he's gone to t

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez is in washington. this is a strong rebuke from the white house. what will is it appeared the president saying? >> reporter: that's right, fred. the white house saying it's similar to other authoritarian regimes, but the white house slamming the former president for his comments on immigration yesterday. in a statement this morning, a white house spokesperson saying echoing the grotesque rhetoric, and threat then not who disagree with the government are -- and on public safe. it is the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. that has been the resounding message from the white house, and from the biden campaign. in marking the stark contrast between president biden and his predecessor, former president donald trump on the issue of immigration. of course, this is all delicate as border security and immigration have been liabilities for president biden going into the 2024 president y58 election. in opportunities like this one, the white house making it chlorothat what the former president is saying here is dangerous. president biden had actu

we're going to begin at the white house with priscilla alvarez. priscilla, you can walk us through the details of this meeting between secretary of state antony blinken and amlo. >> that's right, boris. these are the highest ranking officials engaged in the meetings as the u.s. seeks more help from mexico. and they want to see a series of measures taken by mexico to drive down those numbers. officials tell me that that includes, for example, moving migrants that are in the northern border of mexico further south to did congest the area and controlling railways where migrants use to quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives for migrants to remain in mexico and not make their way up to the border. now this all comes as an extension to the call that president biden held with mexican president andres manuel lopez obrador last week where the two agreed that additional enforcement was urgently needed. the u.s. has often leaned on mexico in moments of crisis to stem the flow. that's what they're looking for to provide relief to

police s priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. >>> former u.s.dent donald trump is once again lashing out to immigrants coming into the u.s. at a campaign rally in new hampshire on saturday, he railed against migrant crossing at the u.s./mexico border, cnn has the details. >> reporter: former president donald trump returns to the granite state for the first time in a month, continuing a ramp-up of political activity in the coming week before voters cast ballots in the presidential primary. during those months, president trump continued the dark and what civil rights groups have said about zxenophobia. >> they've poisoned mental institutions and prisons across the world, not just in south america, or the three or four we think about, but all over the world from africa and arab, they're pouring into our country. for former president trump who focused on the campaign visits have convinced his supporters not to be complacent. they know that they're leading in the polls. there's been a lot of coverage how much they're leading in the polls and they don

priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. >>> former u.s. president donald trump is once again lashing out at immigrants coming into the u.s. at a campaign event in new hampshire on saturday, he railed against migrant crossings at the u.s./mexico border which hit new highs in september. >> they are poisoning the blood of our country. that's what they have done. they have poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world. not just in south america or the three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world they are coming into our country from africa, from asia, all over the world they are pouring into our country. >> president biden's campaign reacted to that rhetoric saying trump is parroting adolf hitler. trump also quoted russian president vladimir putin and praised hungary's authoritarian leader viktor orban. >>> meanwhile the u.s. is experiencing its highest level of homelessness since the government began conducting its annual point in time count back in 2007. cnn correspondent camila bernal has more on this gr

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez joins me now. priscilla, trump is set to take the stage at this rally in nevada at any moment now. what is the white house expecting in terms of responding to this kind of rhetoric that we're seeing from trump? >> reporter: well, they're calling it for what they see it as, which is dangerous. and in a statement to cnn, a white house spokesperson said the following about trump's remarks just yesterday, saying, quote,ek koering the grotesque rhetoric of fascist and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all americans, on our democracy, and on public safety. it's the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. this has been the message from the white house and from the biden campaign, and the president himself, in private events with donors, has condemned his predecessor's language on immigration as well, likening it to nazi terminology. and the white house and the biden campaign have repeated

priscilla alvarez is in washington with those details for you. >> reporter: senior u.s. officials meeting on tuesday with a close confidant of benjamin netanyahu. the hours long meeting comes as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from its high intensity war. now, ron durmer met with antony blinken and jake sullivan. the big question, what does the next face of the war look like. up until this point israel has assured the u.s. that it plans to transition to a low intensity war with a more precise military strategy, but they haven't offered a time line. so u.s. officials were looking for more information on that again as that death toll continues to rise in gaza. over the course of the day, officials were expressing confidence about the nature of the conversations between the u.s. and israel describing them as good and saying that the u.s. and israel are on the same page. but president biden is under increasing pressure over the destruction and devastation in gaza. and he said earlier this month that israel risks losing support on the international stage if it doesn't

our reporter priscilla alvarez is here. what specifically will the secretary asked of the mexican president? >> reporter: u.s. officials prepared a series of measures they want mexicans to take to drive down the number of border crossings at the u.s. southern border. for example, moving migrants out, at the mexico northern border to decongestant area as well as controlling roadways which are often used to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border. providing incentives like visas so that migrants remain in the country, and not travel up to the u.s. southern border. clearly it's an urgent issue not only because of the numbers but also because of who the president is sending to have these talks. this is an extension of the president biden call with mexican president andres manuel lopez obrador. last week both agreed that additional enforcement was urgently needed. eric kay of state antony blinken, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas and homeland security advisor liz sherwood-randall in the talks that will happen

priscilla alvarez joins me now from the white house. what is the white house doing now to try to salvage this and make some kind of deal? is that even possible? >> reporter: put simply, it's trying to find some sort of some promiez, which the president is open torks according to his remarks yesterday. sources tell me that the white house telegraphed to negotiators what they might be open to. that includes two key issues raising the credible fear standard for asylum seekers, but also casting a wider net of undocumented immigrants for a procedure. that latter point being similar to what was attempted under the trump administration. this was unlikely to sit well with allies who see this as reducing the number of migrants who might be eligible for asylum and putting more migrants on track to be deported more quickly. but the reality of the white house is facing here is that the situation on the ground is dire. they are facing more than 10,000 encounters daily. and that alone stresses federal resources. so all of this just puts a very politi

priscilla alvarez, cnn, at the white house. >>> recent polling shows biden is way behind donald trump when it comes to immigration and border security resp, an issue could jeopardize the re-election campaign. a poll conducted shows biden trails trump by 23 points on better handling of immigration. >>> nikki haley held a town hall thursday where she tried to set herself apart from the other republicans running for the white house. including the former president. she was confronted by an iowa voter who called on her to more strongly criticize trump. >> i want to hear from you that you also think that this is not good for the country and not good for the church and i want to support someone who agrees with that. >> i wouldn't be running if i didn't think that he is not the right person at the right time. i have said multiple times i don't think that it is good for the country for donald trump to become president again. i've made that very clear. >> gop presidential candidate ron desantis believes trump's legal woes have done damage to the republican party. the florida governor discussed

. >>> cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house.omeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas was part of negotiations earlier today on, you know, a package deal that would involve immigration, aid to ukraine, as well as israel. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, these negotiations are still ongoing. the secretary having spent part of his time on the hill this week, including today to try to reach some type of consensus on border policy changes to be attached to this supplemental request. to remind viewers, this is a supplemental request the white house sent to capitol hill in october. it includes, for example, $61 billion for ukraine, $14 billion for israel, as well as funds for border security, among other priorities. and the president has repeatedly said to americans that this aid is critical not only for the security of these countries but also for u.s. national security. saying that without this aid, republicans are essentially kneecapping ukraine at a critical juncture. but what the president has also said is he's open to c

priscilla alvarez is live outside of the white house this morning, and this is something that the bidendministration can do without congress to help fund the war in israel and ukraine at the same time, and so, tell us more about what is actually in the order and how it might work. >> well, as you mentioned there, sara, the focus is on the secondary sanctions to go after the financial institutions, and the resounding message there being to disincentivize the type of behavior that furthering russia's ability in this war in a way that the senior administration official characterized it is that it is going to provide the u.s. a way to target institutions, goods, financial services in a more quote surgical way. so, again, it is strengthening the sanctions, but trying to fine tune them enough to crank it up on russia. the national security adviser jake sullivan said this in a statement. he said that the new sanction authorities will make clear to foreign financial institutions that facilitating significant transactions to the military bases will expose them to the sanctions risk, and we are s

we have priscilla alvarez at the white house for us. what is this meeting hoping to accomplish when we know in the background that the biden administration has been pointed with the israeli administration saying that you have to do better when it comes to trying to protect the officials in gaza. >> sara, you can expect it to be a serious point of discussion in the meetings. it is coming at a critical time, because the u.s. does want to see israel move away from the high intensity war that has led to thousands of deaths of innocent civilians. now, as you have mentioned, there ron dermer is going to be meeting with secretary of state antony blinken and national adviser jake sullivan and the confident of benjamin netanyahu of the war cabinet and israel's ambassador to the u.s. up to this point, israel has assured the u.s. that it has moved to a lower intensity war, and targeting hamas leadership, but there is not a time line for when they will move into that phase. and u.s. officials have previously said they will expect the localized oper

cnn white house reporter, priscilla alvarez, it's here. it has more on this new reporting. priscilla, the situation is only worse here in recent weeks it appears. >> the numbers are only getting higher. a homeland security official source telling me that the seven-day average in december was 9600 encounters. compare that to late november where they were at 6800 encounters. at that point there was already alarm bells going off about the stresses that it placed on federal resources. this is not just a matter of numbers. it is where it is happening. these surges, they are happening in remote areas across the u.s. southern border. the challenge for authorities when that occurs is that they cannot easily decompress sectors or process migrants the way they usually would. that creates an entire set of challenges. the situation becoming so dire that president biden called mexican president, andres manuel lopez obrador, yesterday asking him to do more to stem the flow of migrants, placing pressure on his mexican counterpart on that front. the two agree that additional enforcement is,

let's get started with priscilla alvarez on the north lawn of the white house. what more are you learning about the strikes directed by president biden? >> reporter: well, the strikes followed earlier strikes in the day that wounded three americans in northern iraq, one of whom according to the white house is in critical condition. now, the president was immediately briefed following that strike. and later in the day, this was yesterday, the defense secretary presented the president options and that is when the president ordered the strike. now, according to a statement from the white house they said, quote, during that call, the president directed his strikes against three locations, utilized by kataib hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities. the statement goes on to say that the president places no higher priority than the protection of american personnel serving in harm's way. the united states will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing, should the attacks continue. now, u.s. central command has since s

priscilla alvarez joins me now. what's the white house saying about this dark rhetoric. >> reporter: the resounding message is that it's dangerous. we heard that from a white house spokesperson who said, quote, echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to suppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on democracy. it's the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. president biden in private events with donors has also condemned his predecessor's language as he campaigns and said that his rhetoric is likened to nazi terminology. so we've heard this before from the president himself. and the white house and the biden campaign have repeatedly gone after and blasted the former president for his controversial immigration proposals should he take a second term. so far, the president himself issued his first statement through his re-election campaign condemning trump's travel ban on predominantly muslim countries, calling it, quote, cruel. but,

joining me now is priscilla alvarez from the white house. you covered this as closely or closer than anyone i know. you basically have been the one to explain everything to me about what's been going on at the board ere for the better part of several years now. when you talk to administration officials in washington in that building behind you, do they have a sense of anything they can do in the near term to deal with this? >> reporter: a lot of it is shoring up resources. that's the patchwork process they go through. but then in addition to that, it's looking for help from the regional partners. that's been the through line over the course of the biden administration is looking to partners to the south to help stem the flow of migrants, which come from multiple countries. there was a time when we were only talking about migrants coming from guatemala, and el salvador, not anymore. they come from venezuela, colombia, and that creates a lot of difficulty for this administration. so last week president biden called the mexico president to get

priscilla alvarez, thanks so much for the reporting. appreciate it.ther now with the mayor of laredo, texas. victor trevino. mayor, thank you so much for being with us. first, i want to get your reaction to that news that the u.s. and mexico reached a deal to reopen the border crossings at eagle pass and el paso. do you think that those closures ultimately gave the u.s. leverage for these meetings? >> well, i think all efforts are important and thank you for having me. we are seeing conditions affect humanitarian hurricane here locally in the making because as the largest land port in the u.s., we've been accustomed to see migrants being released in our community. but most of them get in a bus and go to another destination. but now what we are seeing is refugees from all over the world, not precisely from mexico. they come from south america and all over the world, stranded in our community with no money and no idea of where they're going. so, even if 1% of those people who are referred from other border areas be released daily here, 1% would be signi

priscilla alvarez, we understand blinken will be in mexico.t that they're hoping to get out of the leadership of mexico? >> well, they want more help and that's what the u.s. does in moments of crisis. they lean on mexico to get them to help them drive down the number of border crossings into the united states and the urgency is quite clear here given who it is that's doing the meeting. secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas meeting with the mexican president as well as some members of his cabinet. officials tell me that some of the requests that they'll bring to the table include, for example, moving migrants who are on the northern border, as you mentioned, south to decongest that area. controlling the railways which migrants use to the u.s. southern border as well as providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and that continue to the u.s.-southern border and all of of this is an extension to the president where both agreed that additional enforcement is needed. over the las

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez is joining us now. heard those words, we feel ignored and you hear that from democrats and republicans who are leaders up and down the border. what is the white house hoping to achieve as their top officials are going to mexico? >> there's no doubt, sara, that this has been an incredibly complicated issue for the white house to navigate as they get heat from both sides. now they are going to mexico to try to get help from mexico to drive down these border numbers and the urgency is clear by who is going. secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas will meet with the mexican president as well as some members of his cabinet. officials tell me they're coming with requests and those include, for example, moving migrants who are at mexico's northern border south to decongest that area, controlling the railways which are often used by migrants to get to the u.s. southern border and providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and not to continue up

priscilla alvarez, thank you for that. let's talk more about this with retired army major journalist. i general, i want to talk to you first. we're going to talk to you about what is on the table with these discussions between the biden administration and this key confident. can they get somewhere, do you think, on having a sense of the next phase of the war being lower intensity and that being sooner as the u.s. wants it to be? >> i think so. look, israel is listening. especially to one party, and that's to the united states and this administration. they admire and respect israel. they admire and respect and are thankful for the support the united states has provided israel in this ongoing support. however, there are limitations, as we've seen. what israel is trying to do, is achieve an objective where they can go forward publicly and say mission accomplished or at least mission accomplished close enough. and then realizing there is work to be done. to stop the campaign that we've seen to date, which is heavy use of air s

cnn's priscilla alvarez joins us now.do we expect the president to say potentially as he leaves knowing that some of his cabinet members are in mexico now trying to deal with this unprecedented crisis? >> reporter: well, the president has been coming under increasing pressure from border towns who are simply overwhelmed by this unprecedented surge. his senior u.s. officials will be going down to mexico with specific asks to have them drive down or at least help drive down the numbers at the u.s. southern border. it's clear just how urgent this is by who is going. his highest ranking officials including secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. now, officials tell me that these requests include the following, for example, move migrants in the northern border of mexico further south, also controlling railways used by migrants to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and not continue to regularly migra

cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house. what's the latest? >> reporter: the devil is really in the details. that is what they are still trying to hammer out. some negotiators, as you said, finishing their in-person meetings, but signaling there some progress. but work still needs to be done. earlier in the day, alejandro mayorkas met with those negotiators to continue to discuss all of that. now, sources tell me that there are main buckets here that they are working on, that includes raising the standard for asylum seekers, and expulsion authority without the chance to seek asylum, mandatory detention, a fast track deportation procedure sk and a parole authority that allows migrants to live in the u.s. temporarily on a case-by-case basis. these are all incredibly complicated issues, and it's a hard sell not only for republicans but also for democrats. members of the president's own party have taken issue with some of these concessions, saying that they echo the trump administration, but they're being pushed to embrace and support these polici

and priscilla alvarez, thank you so much in d.c. trump's anti-immigrant comments come as high stakes talks on capitol hill to reach a border deal are under way. just moments ago, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas arrived at the capitol for another afternoon meeting with senate negotiators. a handful of senators have been working overtime to hammer out some sort of compromise on immigration that also provides aid for ukraine and israel. >> from a republican and democrat negotiators who are really diligent, doing a great job, and then basically with the white house involved committed to getting this border under control. that's what i'm really very hopeful for, and i think we're going to see something next week, and we'll stay there until we get it done. >> the bottom line here is we feel like we're being jammed. we're not anywhere close to a deal. it will go into next year. >> cnn's manu raju has more on where the talks stand. >> senators spent the weekend trying to see if they can get any sort of compromise on the issue

priscilla alvarez is at the white house where talks with administration officials just wrapped up. what can you tell us? >> reporter: this was an hours long meeting that ended moments ago and it came at a critical time. what is the next phase look like, especially, the ground operation that israel is engaged in in gaza, as you mentioned, ron dermer is a close confidant to the israeli prime minister , he's a member of the war cabinet and he was israel's ambassador to the u.s. under benjamin netanyahu as well, now, israel, up to this point has assured the u.s. that it plans to move toward a low intensity war, that means more precise military operations targeting hamas leadership. they haven't offered a timeline as to what that looks like and when. officials have said they have anticipated that localized operations would happen sometime in january but publicly, u.s. officials have not been able to offer much more in detail beyond that so going into these meetings, officials including the secretary of state and national security advisor sullivan, they were going into this, wanting to s

priscilla alvarez, thank you. >>> just into cnn. sad news.n israeli hostage has been killed in gaza. will ripley joins us from tel aviv with more. what can you share with us this morning? >> reporter: hi, poppy. confirmation just came in minutes ago. gadi shais hagai, 73 years old, who was kidnapped while he was walking with his wife in the vineyards, they were taken, shot. judy, his wife, said her husband was badly hurt at that time on october 7th. she was able to get in touch with friends before they were kidnapped and they were taken into gaza. while we don't know the exact circumstances of gadi's death, we have been hearing from hostages newly released who talk about just total information blackout, being separated from their loved ones, sometimes being held down in underground tunnels, hearing every single air strike, feeling like maybe they were forgotten about. 73 years old. the same age as my parents. can't imagine what the families have been going through and feeling, poppy. but this is the situation for families here in israel, fami

priscilla alvarez is at the white house who talks to administration officials. priscilla just wrapped up what you can tell us about what took place? >> john, that's right. this was an hours long meeting. it ended moments ago. it came at a critical time as though moving question over these meetings were what does the next phase of the israeli hamas conflict look like, especially the ground operation that israel is engaged in in gaza. now, as you mentioned, ron dermer is a close confidant to the confidant to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's a member of the war cabinet. he was also israel's ambassador to the u.s., previously under netanyahu as well. so, is you're up to this point has assured the u.s. that it plans to move towards a low intensity war. this means more precise military operations targeting hamas leadership. but, they have not offered a timeline as to what this looks like and. when, now u.s. officials have said that they have anticipated that localized operations would happen sometime in january. but, again, u.s. fiddles have not been abl

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us.he number of migrants, but this crisis got much more this month, right? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. current and former u.s. officials are telling me that the u.s./members ko border is at a breaking point. in november, there was on the floor 191,000 unlawful crossings at the u.s./mexico border, but if you zoom into more of the numbers, in november daily average was 7,800. in december it's up to 9,600. that strains u.s. resources already overwhelmed. this is happens across the u.s. making it all the more difficult for authorities to address this search. now, also, this is the situation that the white house had hoped to avoid. it is not only an immense logistical challenge, but a political challenge on the 2024 presidential election. when immigration is expected to be a key issues, and one that republicans have repeatedly criticized the president over the situation has become so dire, that president biden got on the phone with the mexican president to place pressure on his mexican co

. >> they are meeting about a plan, let's discuss with priscilla alvarez, this is the latest attempt violence. >> coming from one of the leading figures, to push for more gun control laws. she's meeting now with 39 local lawmakers and part of her messages to share and strategize how they push these gun control laws. when office of gun violence -- banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. firearm specific liability laws when talking about the vice president talks about the false choice they often represent. take a listen. >> i will speak for myself, i am in favor of the second amendment and i'm also in favor of an assault weapons ban, universal background check, red flag law. it is just reasonable. you might want to know that before someone can buy a lethal weapon, if they have been found by a court to be a danger to themselves and others. president biden signed gun safety legislation and if rituals have cited that as a major legislative accomplishment without more congressional action, they are looking towards states and trying to get action on their part to try to curb gu

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez joins -- a very delicate issue for president, which means it's a very delicate issue for the white house and for his re-election campaign. >> reporter: exactly right, dana. when asked about this, they decline to comment, which has been their approach over the last few months. instead, the white house and the campaign have pointed to hunter biden's attorneys' statement. in that statement yesterday, the attorney said, if hunter's last name was anything other than biden, the charges in delaware and now california would not have been brought. now, these charges, these counts include, for example, failure to file and pay taxes, evasion of assessment, and filing a false, fraudulent tax return. now, president biden, when he's approached the issue of hunter biden, has been quite personal in saying that his son has his love and support. he's also kept him close. we have seen hunter at events at the white house as well as in family events. but the thinking inside of the campaign is really that this issue, this of hunter biden and these ongoing cases, doesn't resonate with

let's turn to priscilla alvarez to talk about this. what is the white house saying? >> reporter: they are saying that it is dangerous. the campaign has said it is on american. specifically a white house spokesperson said the following. echoing the protest rhetoric of fascists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all americans and our democracy and public safety. it is the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. of course, some of the rhetoric from former president trump is not new. this is something that the former president has set before . the biden campaign and the white house have been prepared for that exact possibility. in fact, president biden himself in private events with donors has told them that this language is likened to nazi terminology. he also condemned the former president's travel ban on muslim countries. they are fully aware of where the former president stance on immigration and they have been blasting each of those policies as they have been rolled out and c

and now priscilla alvarez in the white house, we know senior officials and the the secretary of state is heading to mexico in the coming days and that president biden has spoken with mexico's president. what are you hearing from the white house about what's happening today and what's going to come in the next few days? >> well, jessica, this has been a top concern for the white house and an issue that officials have had to grapple with under the biden administration amid this record migration across the western hemisphere, and as you mentioned, the situation has become to dire that president biden called the mexican president last week to place pressure on mexico to do more to stem the flow of migration, and during the calls, both leaders agreed that additional enforcement is urgently needed, but this is the situation the white house was hoping to avoid, because border security is not a political issue but a major low just cal challenge as the number of people apprehended a at the u.s./mexico border strains and they are including secretary of state antony blinken and human right secre

priscilla alvarez joins me now. what are you hearing about negotiations right now? >> all indications right now is that there has been some progress, but exactly what that is still unclear. what has been clear is that the president has said repeatedly that he's open to compromise, but that means compromising on one of the most delicate political issues for this white house. which is the handling of the u.s./mexico border. the growing urgency is by this white house to get money to ukraine and israel is putting democrats in a very difficult position. one that it's putting them in a box. they are having to embrace and support some of these concessions that are very similar to the trump administration and ones that not long ago democrats were criticizing. now sources tell me that some of these concessions include expelling migrants without the chance to seek asylum. that's from the covid era restriction. as well as raising the credible fear standard for asylum seekers, more deportations and expanding detention. these are all difficult pills to the swallow for progressiv

priscilla alvarez is following this for us. >> this rhetoric from the former president is not new. they said in that statement that he's following his role models, and the white house adding to that saying in a statement, quote, they are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all americans on democracy and on public safety. it's the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. jim, as i talked to campaign officials, they note the policies that have been rolled out by donald trump on immigration are un-american, and they note we should take him seriously, and the former president ran into obstacles on resources, like he said with the largest deportation, but the intent is the same. it's going after immigrants. that's where the president and the campaign have been prepared for that and they have blasted him on that, and president biden used his first statement through his re-election campaign to specifically criticize trump's travel ban on predominantly muslim countries calling that cruel. the campaign and the white house knows this is coming, they have known, and they a

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us.t does the white house hope to see in this new phase? >> reporter: they want to see more targets and precise strikes. this has been an ongoing concern for the white house. the mass destruction and deaths of innocent civilians in gaza has started its ground operations in that region. what has happened over the course of time is pressure from the white house, discussions behind the scenes to move towards a targeted strike. now, jake sullivan was in israel this week. he met with the prime minister benjamin netanyahu on this matter, as well as with israeli officials. he told reporters that, while they don't yet have a timeline of how exactly this will look, this was certainly part of their discussion. take a listen. >> i'm not going to speak to timelines from the podium. i am going to say we had a very constructive conversation today about the transition from the high-intensity phase forward. when that happens will be a continuing discussion between the united states and israel. i will mak

let's go to cnn's, priscilla alvarez, who's at the white house for us. lla, what is the biden administration expected come out of these meetings? >> well, two key issues at the forefront, that being the conflict that's unfolding in gaza, but also the release of hostages. as you mentioned there, it's a critical time, as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from its high intensity war, as that death toll grows in gaza. so, rhonda armor will be meeting with secretary of state, antony blinken, and national security adviser, jake sullivan, this afternoon. he is a close confidant of israel's benjamin netanyahu, and he's also a member of the war cabinet and previously israel ambassador to the united states. israel has assured the united states previously that it plans to move towards a lower intensity war, more precise strategy that targets hamas leadership. but there hasn't been a timeline as to when that will happen. u.s. officials have previously said that they would expect those localized operations to happen in january. but again, publicly, we haven't rea

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. priscilla, what are you learning about the meetings today? >> reporter: well, kate, this comes at a critical time as the white house talks to israel about being more precise in not targeting innocent civilian casualties. now, of course, ron dermer is a close confidante to netanyahu, a member of the war cabinet. he's also previously israel's ambassador to the united states. now, u.s. officials have previously said that israel has assured them they're going to move from a high intensity war to low intensity, have more of a precise strategy in targeting hamas leadership, again, to contain the innocent -- the deaths of innocent civilians. also, the u.s. is saying that they don't really have a timeline they can share for that. u.s. officials have previously said that might look like localized operations by january, but they haven't said much more than that, and providing additional details into what this next phase looks like and when that will happen. that is going to be a topic of discuss

cnn's priscilla alvarez at the white house, and cnn's will ripley in tel aviv. priscilla, this meeting, is it bringing the u.s. and israel any closer on their differences over the war in gaza? >> this meeting is under way with a close confidant of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, as well as secretary of state antony blinken, as well as national security adviser jake sullivan. it's a significant meeting that comes at a critical time as the u.s. urges israel to move away from its high-intensity war as the death toll rose in gaza. now, israel has assured the u.s. before that it would move toward lower-intensity fighting or precise military strategy targeting hamas' leadership, but they haven't offered a time line. u.s. officials have previously said they would expect those localized operations to happen in january. so this meeting under way with ron dermer, quft of netanyahu, previously served as israeli ambassador to u.s. during the course of the day senior israeli officials have maintained the u.s. and israel continue to be in close discussion, that ther

. >> we begin this morning with priscilla alvarez live at the white house. and you have new reporting on what the administration is looking to ask for in these meetings. what are the expectations? >> reporter: president biden is ending the year the way he started it, working with his mexican counterpart to try to manage the record migration in the western hemisphere. and the urgency of the moment is clear by who is heading down to mexico today. secretary of state antony blinken, homeland security secretary my aayorkas are going down to meet with the mexican president and members of his cabinet as thousands move north. these officials are going down with ask and including the following moving migrants south, those being migrants at the northern border now. and also controlling railways which are often used by migrants to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives for them not to journey to the border to begin with. like for example visas. and as you heard there from the eagle pass mayor, border towns are growing restless and pl

cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house, u.s. officials are essentially trying to play every lever they can to ease the migrant search, what specific requests are they making? >> they are trying to get to cross down these border crossings, it is clear this is an urgent one by the white house, the president employing some of his highest ranking officials to talk with some members of his cabinet about what more can be done to send the flow of migration. these include for example moving migrants in the northern part of mexico further south, deacon jesting that area of the border, controlling railways that are used by migrants to get to the u.s. southern border and providing incentives like visas to stay in mexico, to the u.s. southern border. all of this occurs last week between president biden and manwell lopez were both agreed while they are urgently needed. >> we know those numbers have been dropped slightly. homeland security official telling me, they were around 6000 down from a few years ago where they were surpassing 10,000 r

. >> and we start on with priscilla alvarez who has more reporting from what is going on inside the whiteouse in advance of these talks. what is the administration looking for? >> reporter: this is telling who is going to max comexico to mar meeting. secretary of state antony blinken and secretary alejandro mayorkas coming with specific requests to drop the numbers. and that is according to officials moving migrants south on mexico's northern border and controlling railways often used by my grants to quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives like visas to keep them from journeying to the u.s. southern border to begin with. bordering towns have been overwhelmed by the number of people arriving at the u.s./mexico border. and that has put more pressure on president biden to do more to try to manage the situation. and that is what he is looking to mexico to help with. and the u.s. has historically done this, they have lean order mexico in moments of crisis to help them with the numbers at the u.s. southern border. and they are hoping that with these asks, they can

priscilla alvarez is live for us at the white house. this is her reporting. think you can lose the thread here if you're just thinking about numbers. they are so large and so unprecedented. but the toll that this is having on people and resources, how bad is this? >> that's what make it is so difficult. authorities are working with an immigration system that is just incredibly dated. and right now, that is trying to absorb record migration in the western hemisphere. so the challenges that the white house faces here are real. they are not easy solved. they are political. a poll showed there are 69% of voters disapprove of president biden's handling of immigration. but what the white house is up against here is those numbers you mentioned. an average of 9,600 migrants a day in december. compare that to november when numbers were at 6,800. and at the time, officials were already saying how understrained they were. what's uniquely challenging about this moment is that migrants are crossing across the u.s. southern border. multiple regions are being slammed. and t

priscilla alvarez is at the white house. what do you know? >> reporter: u.s. officials tell me what they expect with this new raise is a low intensity raids going after hamas leadership, all of this strategic in trying to avoid and lessen the casualties of innocent civilians, which has been a concern for the white house as israel has launched into its ground invasion. of course, there has been pushback both on the world stage and domestically of the images and destruction in gaza. what u.s. officials have conveyed over the last several weeks and especially in the last few days is that the conversation with israel is about them moving toward that precise, again, low-intensity phase of their fighting. when that happens is still a bit unclear. when jake sullivan was taking part in these meetings and his news conference this week, he said he didn't have much to share on that front, but he was also making clear that israel has the right to defend itself. the u.s. can provide guidance and communication, but they can't necessarily tell them exactly what to do. >> we

i want to get details from priscilla alvarez. this was something the white house was unhappy about. they put out a statement when governor abbott signed this new law. what are they threatening to do. >> they're threatening to take texas to court saying that enforcing immigration law is a federal responsibility and that this measure by texas that allows local law enforcement to arrest migrants interferes with the federal government's operations on the u.s. southern border. this is what they had to say in the letter to abbott. it says sb 4 which is what the measure is known, is preempted and violates the united states constitution. accordingly, the united states intends to file suit to enjoin the enforcement unless texas agrees to refrain from enforcing the law. so the justice department essentially saying in this letter to texas that they will sue to block this measure from taking effect in march if governor doesn't pull it back. but as you mentioned there, this is part of an ongoing saga between president biden and the texas governor over the handling of the border. but now, it's st

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. these meetings could be underway at any moment. what are we expecting out of them? >> reporter: this comes at a critical time as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from the high intensity war as the death toll grows in gaza. this, of course, being a significant meeting with a close confident of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's a member of the war cabinet and served as ambassador to the united states. secretary of state antony blinken and national security adviser jake sullivan are participating in the meetings as they seek answers on the next phase of the israel hamas conflict looks like. israel assured the u.s. it plans to move towards a lower intensity war. more precise targeting of hamas leadership. it's unclear what the timeline looks like. previously they believed the localized operations would take place by january. it's unclear if that is happening. and if the next phase of the war has kicked into gear. senior israeli if i recalls throughout the course of the day today maintained there's no daylight betwee

priscilla alvarez is with us. what is happening at the border right now driving these numbers? >> there's always multiple reasons why there are surges at the u.s./mexico border. in this case, it's happening against the backdrop of record migration across the western hemisphere that got worse after the coronavirus pandemic. there is transportation networks that will advertise travel to the u.s. southern border and smugglers who spread misinformation. take all of that together and this amounts to a worsening situation that officials tell me is bringing the u.s./mexico border to a breaking point. as mentioned, the seven day average was 9800 migrants. that's over november where we were at 6800 and one more point of comparison. in 2019 at the height of that crisis, and counters barely reached 6000. this is a challenge for the administration not only because of numbers but because it's happening across the u.s. southern border. multiple sectors are seeing more and more migrants crossing and the nationalities make it difficult for consequences. all of that puts the white house in a ve

cnn's priscilla alvarez leads us off from the white house today. what does the administration hope to get out of this trip from a policy perspective? >> reporter: simply put, they want help to drive down the number of border crossings. that officials have been seeing creep up over the last several weeks. now this is not what the president wanted to have to face head ing into the election. this is not only a logistical challenge for the administration, it's also a political one as he faces heat from republicans and the democrats. a senior u.s. official going into these meetings with requests from mexico to try to get more help to drive down these numbers. what those look like, according to the officials i have spoken with, include moving migrants, who reason the northern border of mexico further south. as well as controlling railways. those are use d by migrants to get to the u.s. southern border. and also providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and not make the journey to the border. all of this is an extension of a call th

in fact, there are some democratic allies of the white house telling my colleague, priscilla alvarez dish allies, that if some of these policies that are on the table to end up being a part of this package, but they cannot even imagine campaigning for the president because they see these policies bad policies. i think it's also just worth reminding everyone that even though the major hang-up is over the issue of the border, we are talking about a supplemental package that includes some 60 billion dollars in aid for ukraine that when it comes to that, the white house is basically saying time is up. we could get one more package through before the end of the not, but after that there is more money. >> mj lee, thank you so much for that report. >>> let's expand the conversation now with john sandweg, he's the former acting director for immigration and customs enforcement in the obama administration. he also served as the former acting general counsel for homeland security. john, thank you so much for being with us. i just want to note for our viewers that moments ago we got into our inb